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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: craft · spring · current · bound · land · rule · object · rest

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. object — to protest
  3. land — ground
  4. bound — certain
  5. current — of water
  6. land — to come down
  7. current — happening now
  8. current — electric
  9. bound — tied together
  10. rest — what's left
  11. object — a thing
  12. bound — obliged
  13. land — a country
  14. spring — the season
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. craft — boats
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — a break
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. spring — a coil
  21. rule — government
  22. craft — a skill
  23. spring — of water
  24. rule — a law

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com